


Time Is Dancing

by nanases_h



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Post-Break Up, Romance, Second Chances, Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-27
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2019-05-29 09:20:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15070082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanases_h/pseuds/nanases_h
Summary: Alfred and Arthur used to travel the world together. Then, something went wrong along the way and they went their separate ways. Two years later, they meet again. (Backpacker/post-breakup AU).





	Time Is Dancing

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from 'Time Is Dancing' by Ben Howard.

“Kirkland!” 

“Jones.” 

Alfred Jones’s face broke into a wide grin. “Wow, it’s really you! I mean— wow, ha ha! I haven’t seen you in so long! What are the odds?”

Arthur took a sip from his pint of beer and smiled, trying to calm the wild beating of his heart. The moment he stepped into the rooftop bar, he’d spotted Alfred in the far right corner, chatting with a group of tipsy travellers. 

He couldn’t believe his eyes either. Perhaps the darkness and the neon lights were playing tricks on his weary mind. Of all the people he’d bump into while backpacking, it had to be his ex-boyfriend. At a party in Siem Reap, Cambodia, of all places. How bizarre could it get? 

Was it really  _ him _ ? If he was, could he still remember Arthur? 

Because Arthur remembered him. After all this time, he could never forget that face. 

His questions were answered when he saw a glimpse of recognition in his eyes as he looked towards his direction. 

Alfred told his friends to go ahead and sat beside Arthur, who came alone. 

“How are you? It’s been what— two years?” said Alfred. He couldn’t seem to wipe the grin off his face. “Funny how we meet again, huh? In Cambodia, no less!” 

Beside them, a Scottish and an Irish man were mocking each other’s accent. They were surrounded by so many people engaged in countless drunk discussions. The festive vibe was too distracting, making it difficult to speak. Before Arthur could reply, a crowd of laughing 20-somethings sat on their table, and suddenly, the entire bar became part of their conversation.  

“Arthur, didn’t you say you’ve been to Bali?” 

“Oh you’ve been to Bali? How was it?” 

A series of random questions and answers came in waves and in different directions.  _ I spent six months in Vietnam. Are you travelling alone? I don’t know if I can do that. _ There was nothing to do but drink and smoke and talk and talk. The entire time, Alfred kept getting drinks and taking back his seat beside Arthur. 

He listened whenever Alfred shared something about his travels, something that would explain where he got the colourful wristbands on his arm, or his tan lines and freckles. They finally got the chance to talk to each other when someone brought up Angkor Wat. 

“Have you visited the temples yet?” asked Francis, a bearded, long-haired bloke from France. 

“Jones had been here a couple of times before,” said Arthur. “Hadn’t you?” 

“Yeah,” replied Alfred, slightly caught off guard. “I majored in Archaeology and I’m a  _ major _ temple nerd, so going here’s a childhood dream come true, ha ha! I just can’t get enough.” 

_ I could study it forever, _ he told Arthur as he gazed at the monument with reverence a long time ago, when they first visited together. 

“How about you, Kirkland?” asked Alfred. “What brings you to temple town?” 

“I— er— I just wanted to see if the sunrise tour was worth the hype,” replied Arthur. 

The truth was he was on a month-long vacation in Southeast Asia because his boss believed he was working himself to death in the office. He had a few extra days before his flight back to London, and dropping by Siem Reap seemed like a nice idea, not to be nostalgic or anything of course. 

He did the sunrise tour and visited the temples he and Alfred missed when they did the sunset tour for Arthur’s birthday. They couldn’t make the most out of it because they got stupid drunk the night before, so they spent the entire day tour hungover. Thinking about it, most of their night outs were followed by those tides of hangovers. Some nights Arthur couldn’t remember the details, but he could vividly remember the feeling.  

“Wait, sorry, aren’t you two travelling together?” asked Gilbert from Germany. 

“Oh no, not really,” said Arthur.  

“We met a while back,” said Alfred. 

“You seemed to know each other a lot,” said Antonio from Spain.  

Arthur chuckled and downed his whiskey. “Well, you’re not wrong.” 

He and Alfred briefly exchanged looks. If it wasn’t dark, he’d think Alfred was blushing. 

Someone yelled about a pub crawl on the other side of the table and the entire bar stirred.  

“Arthur! Are you coming?” 

Giulia, a bubbly Italian girl with long brown hair and bright amber eyes approached him, beaming widely. They met each other the night before, their first pub crawl together. 

“‘Course I am, sweetheart!” He replied, and she jumped and gave him a big hug. 

And off they went to the next party with around twenty other people. It was a series of ordering drinks, chatting, smoking, and dancing. Arthur felt like he didn’t leave West London at all, with the crowd and the music and the strobe lights. 

Hours flew by without any of them noticing. On the third party, at around quarter past midnight, everyone went wild. Some girls were dancing on table tops as the DJ played their jam. Some boys drank and rapped. 

Alfred found him dancing with his own circle and joined them. By the end of the song, he and Alfred were dancing together, not saying a word. They let their bodies sway with the music, never mind if they could really call it dancing or not. 

And then Alfred flashed a smile that reached his eyes, and it was like meeting each other all over again. 

Looking into his blue, blue eyes, Arthur remembered hot and sweaty nights and the weight of Alfred’s body against his, the morning after. 

But their relationship wasn’t all that. Arthur’s chest swelled with realisation.  

It was also tight hugs once homesickness kicked in, ice cream on an unbearably hot day, and contagious laughter as they recounted a terribly embarrassing thing they did.  

They shared intimacy that went beyond getting naked and having sex, something Arthur never had with other lovers. They had intimacy and  _ warmth _ . 

Another hour or two had passed and they found each other again outside the bar. This time, it was only the two of them. In the dark, away from the party. Alone with their feelings and the truth.  

“Are you happy, Arthur?” asked Alfred, leaning against the wall. 

Sparks danced across Arthur’s skin upon hearing Alfred call his name.  

“I am,” he replied. He searched his pockets for cigarettes and a lighter. 

Alfred nodded to the ground, running his fingers through his dishevelled hair. 

“But it was never the same without you,” continued Arthur. 

Alfred raised his head in shock. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.  

Arthur blamed the amount of alcohol he consumed for letting his guard down. But maybe it was time to be vulnerably honest. Heaven knows there were only a couple of times he let his guard down with Alfred and let the truth out. 

“You know, after we ended, I tried travelling again,” he said, “But after a while, everything was a routine of packing bags, hopping on buses, meeting people, and excessive drinking… It was a never-ending cycle.”

He paused to search Alfred’s face. He was looking at Arthur as if he was trying to answer a difficult riddle. 

Arthur gulped, willing the words to come out of his mouth. “Sometimes I’d find myself searching for you in the crowd, then I’d remember we weren’t together anymore, and feel… empty.” 

“Arthur, I—“ said Alfred, “I feel the same way too.” 

It was Arthur’s turn to be speechless. He fiddled with his cigarette to hide the shaking of his hands. 

“There was a point when I wanted to stop because everything reminded me of you and it drove me crazy,” said Alfred. “I got mad at myself for deleting all your contact details because I wished I could see you again.”  

Silence fell upon them. Arthur was breathing heavily, his chest felt like it was being stabbed a thousand times.  

“But it was good while it lasted, wasn’t it?” He said after a while. 

“It was,” replied Alfred, his lips curled into a sad half-smile. 

At some point in their relationship, they realised travelling as a couple wasn’t always romantic. It wasn’t like what they saw in movies or social media. As time passed, the ugly parts surfaced, mostly coming from their own personal issues, and started destroying them, tearing them apart like the temple ruins they admired so much. 

Sitting on the pavement, Arthur was relieved he and Alfred could talk about the past calmly, not raising their voices with anger and blame. People were going back to their hostels, and some tourists were getting ready for the sunrise tour, tuk tuks zooming along the streets.  

He remembered the last time they saw each other. It was in Vietnam, at around dawn, which felt like a lifetime ago. They knew that they were already finished— Arthur was going back to England after deciding they were over— but Alfred asked him to stay even just for a moment. They had a very early breakfast like a normal morning after partying, eating pancakes and drinking black coffee.  

“Would you like to have breakfast with me?” asked Arthur, standing up. 

“Sure,” said Alfred. “Though we might have to wait for a while because I don’t think there’s somewhere open at this time.”

Arthur hummed in agreement. “We can walk around a bit. I could use a stretch, my legs are sore.” 

They walked in silence, side by side, as the sky turned from black to a deep blue.  

“Where are you going next?” asked Alfred. 

“Home,” replied Arthur. 

Alfred bit his lip. “Any chance you’ll come and visit me?” 

Arthur smiled. “Maybe.”  

“We worked out as a couple when we were travelling. Well, almost,” said Alfred, “Do you think it would have worked if we met at home? Like, if we lived in the same country?” 

“Who the hell knows?” asked Arthur.

They laughed together. The next thing Arthur knew, Alfred had pulled him into his arms, and he let him. His lips found Alfred’s and it was like meeting each other all over again.

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone’s wondering why I disappeared for months, it’s because I moved abroad and am currently traipsing across Indochina (and trying to get my shit together). 
> 
> I kind of wrote this in a hurry, so sorry for the errors! And if you think there's anything I didn't explain well, let me know in the comments. Peace out.


End file.
